1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method to associate an assessor (or evaluator or diagnostician) with an assessment task, in particular an evaluation of an image data set.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In large hospitals (but also in large physicians' practices), a number of examinations (frequently even into the hundreds) are conducted daily. In order to be able to evaluate (i.e. to assess) data acquired in the examination (in particular with radiological modalities), specific qualifications of the assessor (typically a physician) are required, for example.
The greater the number of the assessment tasks, the more difficult it is to solve the organizational problem. A large number of assessors with varying qualifications and amounts of time available for assessments must be taken into account. It may occur that a physician with the necessary qualification is not present at all at the specific medical facility. An approximated equal allocation of the assessment tasks to the various assessors should also be achieved as much as possible.
In the conventional organization of a hospital, each physician has responsibility for one or more acquisition stations, for example a computed tomography apparatus or multiple acquisition raster tables. Depending on his or her level of training, the physician assesses the data alone or reviews it with a more qualified physician. A generalized quality assurance of the findings ensues by the director of the department cross-checking the findings now and again.
However, this procedure entails several disadvantages. The various assessors are frequently unevenly utilized since different modalities are visited by a different number of patients. The quality assurance additionally ensues subjectively as described, and there is no possibility at all to consult outside experts.